Class 150 Sprinters

By Andrew Cole

Since their introduction in 1984, the Class 150 series of ‘Sprinter’ diesel multiple units have plied their trade across the UK - from Cornwall to Scotland and many places in between - replacing large numbers of aging 1950s-built rolling stock. The backbone of many regional and rural services in the UK, the ‘Sprinters’ are a common sight on the modern railway network.Lifelong railway enthusiast and photographer Andrew Cole takes a look at the 135-strong fleet and the routes they operate in a series of rare and unpublished images, covering a broad geographical area.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• Release date: Mar 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781445682082

Book preview

Introduction

The Class 150 units can trace their way back to the start of the 1980s. At that time, British Rail still retained a large fleet of first-generation blue square DMUs, which were starting to become unreliable and in need of costly overhaul. It was decided to build a new fleet of modern units in order to replace the older stock.

Two different designs were introduced: the low-cost Class 142–144 Pacer units that were used on shorter distance services, and Class 150 Sprinter units that were to be used on longer distance services.

The Class 150 units were based on the British Rail Mk III design, having similar body profiles and a ribbed roof. In 1984 the first of two prototype units was released from BREL at York. Numbered 150001, it was fitted with Cummins power units and Voith gearboxes. It was soon followed by the second prototype, No. 150002, but this differed in having Perkins engines, with automatic gearboxes supplied by the Self Changing Gear Company.

The two prototype units were delivered as three-car units, and were to be the only sets to have a purpose-built centre car, which they still have today. No. 150002 would prove to be the more unreliable of the two, and so it was decided to upgrade it as a test bed for the upcoming Class 158. One car was fitted out with a new Class 158 interior, and it was fitted with Cummins power units. While it was in this configuration it was renumbered, firstly to 154001, then as 154002. When its role as test bed was over, it reverted to a standard Class 150 unit, regaining its previous identity.

A total of fifty Class 150 units would follow the two prototypes off the production line at York, numbered 150101–150150. All were painted in Provincial livery, and would be based at Derby Etches Park depot. Following the introduction of new-build units, they would be concentrated on Tyseley for commuter workings in the West Midlands, and also Newton Heath for the same purpose in Manchester. They were built without gangway doors on the front, retaining a flat appearance.

Tyseley would receive the first thirty-two of the Class 150/1 units for use in the West Midlands. A total of eight units would eventually pass to Silverlink on privatisation, with the West Midland fleet operated by Central Trains. Some would also be transferred to Great Western, including the Silverlink examples. When London Midland replaced Central Trains as the holder of the West Midlands franchise, they ordered Class 172 units to replace the remaining Class 150/1 units, with the majority passing to Northern Rail, leaving just three sets in Birmingham to work Bedford–Bletchley and also Hereford services.

Eventually the remaining First Great Western examples and the three remaining London Midland examples joined the rest of the Class 150/1 fleet at Newton Heath.

At the end of 1986 the first of another batch of Class 150 units left BREL York. No. 150201 was the first of eighty-five units that were built in a slightly different design to the first batch; most notably, they were fitted with through gangway doors on the cab front, but they were also fitted with a power-operated crew door rather than a slam door.

The class was mainly delivered to Newton Heath and Neville Hill depots, but some were also allocated to Haymarket and Cardiff Central. This sub-class was to be transferred between various depots, far more than the original batch. Ten were to find their way to Norwich for use on Anglian lines; these later passed to Central Trains in exchange for Class 156 units. A total of eighteen were to find use north of the border in Scotland; they would be replaced by Class